After the latest missile launch, Kim Jong Un congratulated his troops on realising the "great historic cause of completing the state nuclear force" and the "completion of the rocket weaponry system development".

For the technical reasons outlined above, it's reasonable to argue that the nuclear missile programme is not in fact complete, but if Kim Jong Un is prepared to declare it so in his New Year's speech next week, that could offer an opportunity.

If the mission is declared accomplished, then perhaps there would be no need for further tests in the immediate future.

This might meet the United States, or at least Rex Tillerson's criteria of having a sustained period with no missiles launched before talks could start, without North Korea looking like it was capitulating.

Meanwhile, South Korea has said it might delay military exercises with the United States until after the Winter Olympics and Paralympics it is due to host in February and March.

Without either side having to publicly admit it, this would take them some distance down the road towards the Chinese-Russian "dual suspension" proposal, where North Korea suspends testing, and at least starts talking about talks, and the US suspends, or at least scales back, military drills on the peninsula.

Kim Jong Un could tell his people that he has secured their survival with the successful development of nuclear weapons, and turn to the second part of his "Byungjin" or parallel development strategy: developing the economy.

This would have the added benefit of not starting a war that would likely see his demise.

Donald Trump, for his part, could also present this as a win. While he has said the US will never accept a nuclear-armed North Korea, he could claim he has halted the regime just short of that point, before they iron out those remaining uncertainties, with the clock stopped a few seconds before midnight.

This is an imperfect, and impermanent solution, but it would at least enable the two sides to shuffle a little back from the brink of what would be conflict on a scale not seen since the Second World War.